|
Since last we met…
…Helen Ray Bolton Bottimore and I got together to collaborate on the next
chapter of the Louins-Bolton-Bottimore connection.
In the course of our conversation, I found out there are discrepancies in the
spellings of two names. Helen believes that the name Louins as it appears in the
“History of Sacramento County” published in 1925 is spelled incorrectly. She
believes that the name is Lewins. I also have seen it as Lewins in the 1982
Herald Day book. Maybe there is someone out there who can clarify this.
On the Bolton marriage certificate, Helen’s mother’s name is spelled McKoy
and not McCoy as it appears in the Sacramento book, yet Helen does not remember
her mother spelling her name with a K.
Questions, questions, questions! But for now, let’s get on with the story of
Curtis A. Bolton and Ray McCoy.
Did you know…
…that grandfather Curtis Bolton was a native of New York State? He ventured
out to California in 1851 where he married Thomas Louins’ widow, Elizabeth. Elizabeth was an English woman who came to the United States when she was a
small child. When grandfather Bolton came to Sacramento, he worked on the Meiss
Ranch just northeast of Clay Station. It was there that he met Elizabeth
and her five daughters.
Helen Bottimore remembers grandfather Bolton fondly. Her most vivid
recollection was the day she crossed the Laguna Creek bridge riding her small
donkey. She fell off, but her foot remained caught in the stirrup.
She remembers grandfather Bolton running to her rescue, his long white beard
flowing in the wind as the donkey dragged her to the other side during the
ordeal.
Curtis and Elizabeth had three children. Myrtle married a Hauschildt and
Genevieve married a McEnerney. Son, Curtis A. Bolton, born on Jan. 16, 1873,
married Ray McCoy in San Francisco on Aug.13,1900. Miss McCoy was a native Texan
and “the daughter of worthy folks who died when she was a little girl.” It seems
that she came to California with Clara, her sister, and her two brothers, George
and Lon. The children were raised by an aunt and uncle – Mr. And Mrs. John
Wilson of Clay. But pioneer life wasn’t always kind and farming was by no means
easy. Uncle John Wilson died. Mrs. Wilson then became Mrs. Sherfey
of Clay and together they finished the task of raising the children.
As children, Ray McCoy and Curtis A. Bolton attended the Clay district
school. Curtis A. also took up ranching with his father and continued to operate
the dairy and sheep ranch after his dad passed away. Like his father, Curtis A. became a great success in both ranching and merchandising. He was such a success
that in 1907 he purchased the general merchandise business of E.J. Steele at Clay
Station which he conducted…”as a modern establishment which has proven of great
convenience to the community.”
As if this wasn’t enough, Curtis also became the postmaster and the justice
of the peace of the Clay district and a trustee of the Galt Union High School!
By 1911, three children had been born to the couple – Fred, Lois and our very
own Helen. Helen Bolton Bottimore was to become the last teacher at the Laguna
Schoolhouse, the very schoolhouse that her grandparents built!
But our story does not end there. Yes, there is still another piece to the Louins-Bolton-Bottimore connection. I bet you can guess which piece is next. Don’t go away
Back to the list of articles.
|